


Hunts Gone Awry

by AussieTransfan2015, TheBigLoserQueen



Series: Medieval AU [9]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Genderbending, Human, Hunters & Hunting, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Medieval, Molestation, Rescue, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 02:30:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15257454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AussieTransfan2015/pseuds/AussieTransfan2015, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBigLoserQueen/pseuds/TheBigLoserQueen
Summary: Prowl is hunting down Lockdown and it seems he's hunting her down too.





	Hunts Gone Awry

Prowl never would have guessed that her day would turn out this horribly. Everything had started off so mundane too. The king had given with the task of uncovering some grisly murders and attacks happening among travelers within the forests. Normally, she would just sent out scouts and talented agents, but something about these attacks had caught her interest.

It was only caravans being attacked. No individuals or small groups, strictly caravans… and only caravans that carried weapons, armor, and similar wares. It wasn’t monsters either; these were calculating and planned attacks, rational and methodical… and cruel. Not to mention any surviving victims (which were rare) claimed that one of their attackers had a hook for a hand.

If they were right - and Prowl trusted their accounts - then she knew just who was behind this. And there was no one she wanted to bring to justice more than that son a bitch.

The first time she had met Lockdown, she was still just an assassin, a free agent. He had been a mercenary and they had crossed paths at the market more than once. He was repulsive and ruthless and all he did was “flirt” with her and tell her how much he wanted to fuck her. Even when she became King Ultra Magnus’s spymaster, the mercenary would still invade her space and treat her like some sort of prize to be had.

Not to mention he had been a focus point at several previous investigations of her, always being able to slip right out from under her nose and leaving her with dead agents. She absolutely despised him and would do anything to throw him behind bars, if not just straight up execute him.

So, instead of sending scouts and other agents, she had gone with a small group of them, disguising themselves as a weapon’s caravan. They went down a similar route other caravans took, making sure to stray a little to make it seem as if they were lost or trying to avoid an attack.

Sure enough, they drew out the bandits. And she wasn’t at all surprised to see it was Lockdown and his mercenary company. He had definitely been shocked that she had tricked him and her team of four had been able to kill seven of his men.... right before he brought out his backup.

She couldn’t have guessed that Lockdown had anyone like that in his squad. He was a disfigured hulk of a man, perhaps half-orc if she went by his ears and grayish skin color. He didn’t seem to speak much, just grunts and roars and growls with the occasional spew of dumbed-down sentences… Clearly uneducated, but a complete monster that nearly killed her entire team.

She knew a couple of them got away. The rest were dead and she had been captured. She had been brought back to their camp and was currently tied up and restrained against a tree while the men celebrated in their victory, drinking and eating around a campfire. All she could do was sit there, trying to think of how to get out of this.

But, unfortunately, nothing was coming to mind. The half-orc, despite its uneducated and dim stance, was rather perceptive. Each time she managed to loosen the knots or find something to cut the ropes, the orc would cause a commotion and someone would readjust the knots or remove everything on her person and from around her.

“Gotta say...” Prowl rolled her eyes, watching as Lockdown rounded the tree, his arm placed above her head as he leered down. “Never thought I’d catch your eye again,” His purr was met only with disgust, given the heavy roll of sour mead and rotten breath brushing against her cheek.

“Certainly subtlety is not your forte,” she hissed, cringing her nose and trying hard not to gag or show too much discomfort.

“Subtlety only gets you so far. I rather more finesse and straightforward methods,” he smirked, his hook replacement teasing her hair out of its bun.

She remembered that injury; as she should since she had been the one to claim it. One of the missions from her freelancer days, he had claimed her target and, by right, she took something from him too. She had intended on his head, given the nature of the contract, but he proved more skilled than anticipated and only slipped enough for her to claim his arm. She recalled the many names he spat with venom when her sharpened blades easily cleaved through muscle and bone, but she feared it sparked his long winded and unwanted affections.

“What exactly are your intentions here?” she muttered, hoping to dissuade the silence and use his abhorrent obsession to her advantage. “The High King is hardly one to succumb to petty demands, not even for a spymaster.”

“True. Old cunt would rather keep everything to his name to himself,” Lockdown grunted, hook digging into the tree. “Lucky for him, we only need to target the caravans; no shortage of them going too and from the capital. As for you...”

His body pressed harder into her, his leg pushing between her legs and pressing up insistently. Prowl could feel her body freezing, but forced herself to remain stone-faced. She wouldn’t give the bastard any satisfaction by showing him the fear that was bubbling in the pit of her stomach.

“Finally got you here. Out in the open...just like I planned. Wondered how long it would take before you caught the hint and left that study. Now I get a taste~”

“You hardly expect me to believe this was all to lure me out.” Her deadpan expression only made him purr, pressing harder until the bulge in his pants pressed firmly against her, showing plain intent.

“Sure, the goods were beneficial for my group. Especially the weapons, but you... You’re the real prize in all of this.” His hand came up to grab her chin, forcing her to look directly at him. She just held her glare. “And I think my boys can agree on that.”

She couldn’t stop her body from stiffening. This sick son of a bitch… Not only would he use her like a whore, but he was planning on passing her around to his group?! Damn it, and they would no doubt hurt her and humiliate her with everything they had in them, considering it was because of her their friends were dead.

“Then what?” she snarled. “You’ll have you fun before leaving me for dead?”

“I just said you were the real prize, darling.” Her glare darkened, but he just smiled, knowing how much she hated that little pet name. His hand moved from her chin to her breasts, giving it a hard grope. “You’ll make the perfect trophy… and a good bed-warmer for me, won’t you?”

“Not unless you’re willing to lose your dick in the process,” she hissed, shirking back from him only for his hand to pull her closer.

“Feisty~ I love it,” he sneered, rubbing his knee against her crotch and taking a harder grip to her breast. “Hardly think you’re in a position to threaten, darling~”

“Then try us, you cockhold bastard!”

The sudden shout stunned the band of bandits long enough for five men to leap from the trees and bushes. They were like blurs, running about camp and cutting down the remains of Lockdown’s band. Prowl, despite her predicament, was able to kick Lockdown off of her, her head jerking around to get a look at her supposed saviors.

They were bouncing around, still trying to fight off these men, but she caught glimpses of them. Strange slotted eyes, twin swords, and armour made of various styles of hide... She instantly recognized the band of monster hunters.

An accent guild long thought lost were known for mutating their recruits to better hunt monsters and creatures who harm humans. Many tales were spun of the strange cat eyed hunters, but her mind lost her train as an arrow struck Lockdown in the arm, sending him further away from her.

“You sons of bitches-!”

One of the hunters came from behind the trees, still holding what looked to be a crossbow. Nothing like she had ever seen before. He fired another arrow, this one nicking the side of Lockdown’s face. He hissed in pain, gripping his cheek and glaring murderously as these intruders.

But as furious as he was, he could see that six of his men were already dead on the ground. All that was left was himself, the half-orc, and two others… And they weren’t ready to fight these hunters. They were clearly skilled and had the advantage of not being inebriated. They had to fall back, unless he wanted to be killed. Or worse, captured.

He gave an ear-piercing whistle, causing the half-orc to seize up, as if he had been shocked. But soon came a fierce roar, one that left the hunters and Prowl stunned for a few seconds, the former having to cover their ears.

“Retreat, your morons!” Lockdown snarled.

It was all he had to say to get the remaining men to make a run for the mountains, the half-orc barrelling down two of the hunters on his way into the forest. They were knocked to the floor hard, still a little caught off guard from the roar. And Lockdown… He just gave Prowl one last look, a dark glare that let her know this wasn’t the end. That she hadn’t seen the last of him.

But she was still in a pained dazed from the roar and still tied up, so she could only watch as he took towards the mountains too, disappearing from view.

“Are you okay, Milady?”

Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned her attention to the hunter approaching her. There was genuine concern for her in his eyes as he took a dagger, kneeling down to working on her bonds. She spared a glance over at the other four, watching as the others helped the pair toppled by the half-orc back onto their feet. Fortunately, they weren’t hurt.

“That vagrant didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Only my pride,” she muttered.

Soon enough, her ropes were cut loose and she was free. Primus, it was like a rush of relief… She hadn’t realized just how tightly Lockdown had bound her, blood rushing to the areas where the rope drew tight left a shiver running down her spine. A weight pressed onto her shoulders, turning to see one of the hunters place a blanket over her.

“Who sent you here?” she asked. “Word of my capture must have only just reached the High King’s ears by now.”

“We were tracking the half-orc, my lady.” The new voice, which was a little nervous and high-pitched, turned her attention to the shortest of their group. And judging by his face, he must have been the youngest too.

“We were hired by a neighbouring village,” another spoke up. “Same bandits ransacked them and made mention of the half-orc.”

“Bandits are bad enough, but for a group to have such a beast.” Shaking his head, the one who freed her sighed. “We were paid to kill the halfling and return with its head as proof. It apparently raped and killed the village Elder’s daughter.”

That made much more sense as to why they were here. She knew her agents worked quickly, but certainly not that quickly. Thank Primus for this ridiculous stroke of luck, because this could have been so much worse…

Of course, the fact they hadn’t left her yet was strange. Their target had already ran off and she was fine. “Shouldn’t you follow them?”

“We’ve been tracking the bastard for the last few days. Often goes back to the same spots alone, better to get him alone and without his bandit mates,” the last brushed off.

“They might change that,” she pointed out. “Now that you five have made yourselves known to Lockdown and his men.”

“Y-You know their leader?” the youngest asked.

“We unfortunately have a history,” she said, trying to contain her disgust. No one hated that man more than her, she swore. “Many years ago, I took his hand. And now he wants… me, for lack of a better explanation.”

One of the men scoffed. “One of those kinds of dirty fuckers, huh?”

She didn’t know exactly how to answer that, so she just shrugged.

“Then allow us to escort you back to the palace, my lady,” their leader (or rather who she pegged to be so) bowed, showing respect many show her at court.

Given little other choice as well as little sense in staying in the abandoned camp, Prowl nodded. Before any of them could offer to carry her, Prowl set a long stride. The others were left struck, but their leader snapped out of it first and followed her. The rest soon followed.

Coming to a group of horses, the leader offered his own to Prowl. She hesitated though. Even if they had saved her, she wasn’t a damsel; she didn’t need to be carried around. However, given the distance between here and the capital, she didn’t have much of a choice. Climbing on her own strength, the hunter mounted behind her, taking the reigns as his fellows followed.

It was a quiet trip back, for the most part. The men would occasionally talk to each other, allowing her to catch their names… And one of the names, the man she was riding with, she recognized.

“You’re Scrapper?” Prowl asked, looking up to him. Her rider appeared mildly confused as she sighed. “I recall the service you performed some summers ago.”

“Ah yes, the wraith plaguing the King’s fields,” Scrapper nodded, smiling from being recognised. “And yes, milady, my name is Scrapper. And these are my brothers; Long Haul, Mixmaster, Bonecrusher, and Scavenger.”

Each hunter nodded or bowed their head to Prowl, indicating who owned which name.

“Is it common for brothers to be claimed by your guild?” she inquired, in an attempt to make conversation, as well as to forget the incident she almost suffered.

“Not really, but our parents weren’t well off, so when our village hired one such hunter, it couldn’t pay his due,” Scrapper explained. “So our father thought to offer us as payment.”

“Five children for the price of a contract?” she asked, confused.

“When the village couldn’t pay him gold, the hunter enacted some strange law the guild had. Something about what is often overlooked but holds value,” Long Haul added, coming up beside them. “Our father instead offered us, since the guild always took in children rather than men. Took to the training and mutations better.”

“Since we tended the fields in our parents’ places, we weren’t scrawny like the other village kids,” Bonecrusher added, “And that seemed to persuade the hunter too.”

Prowl nodded. It made sense since the guild got something out of it. Instead of coin, they gained numbers and thus gained a wider grip on the trade. However, she could only imagine what they had to endure if the tales and rumors of the guild are to be believed.

“If you wish, my Lady,” Scrapper turned her attention back, “It will be a while before we reach the capital, and it has grown late. If you are tired, please rest. We’ll wake you when we arrive.”

“I’m fine,” she said, turning away to look ahead.

They had saved her and they seemed like mostly noble men, but she couldn’t be too cautious. Noble or not, these men were still strangers. She had almost been assaulted and passed around like a toy by a group of bandits. She just wanted to get back home in one piece.

Whether they had reservations of her choice they didn’t voice them, leaving the matter mute as they continued on. There was light conversation between her and the men, but nothing significant, just to pass the time.

Thankfully, the night was free of any other inconveniences, allowing the trip to be far shorter than expected. Once the guards saw her at the castle gates, they quickly escorted her and the hunters inside. They were taken to the stables, allowing her to finally get to her feet while the hunters tied up their horses. And, soon after, her men appeared, relief clear on their faces; apparently they had been ready to send out the Elite Guard to find her, on High King Ultra Magnus’s orders.

Prowl was so glad that she had been rescued. The king didn’t need to risk losing any of his best men because of this whole debacle. So, once the brothers had their horses secured, they were escorted into the castle and brought to the throne room. And there sat the king, his Elita Guard at his side while his wife sat beside him.

Though she soon jumped up in relief when she saw Prowl. “Oh Prowl!” she cried, placing a hand over her chest as if to calm herself. “Thank Primus… Thank Primus, you’re safe.”

Prowl bowed politely. “If not for the monster hunters, I fear I would’ve been in far worse shape, my Queen.”

The two royals turned to the hunters, who all bowed respectably. Charlotte smiled, relieved that nothing worse had happened. According to the agents, the rest of their squad had perished. At least some good game from this disaster… Taking a deep breath, she moved to sit back down, suddenly feeling a little ridiculous for jumping up so excitedly.

Ultra Magnus acknowledged them with a light nod. “I thank you, hunters, for bringing my spymaster back safely.”

The men raised their heads, Scrapper stepping out a little in front of them to stand closer to Prowl. At least she had assumed right about being the leader among this hunting squad. The way he carried himself seemed as if he was used to taking charge and speaking on the group’s behalf when it called for it.

“We were glad to have come across her when we had, Your Majesty,” he said. “Our only regret was that we could not finish off the rest of the bandits.”

Ultra Magnus’s expression hardened a bit. “They were able to escape?”

“Four did,” Prowl said. She knew the king wasn’t angry, merely concerned. He had to keep his people safe and letting Lockdown run around was a great worry. “Lockdown, two of his men, and a half-orc. It appeared he has… tamed the creature, somehow.”

Ultra Magnus couldn’t stop his eyes from widening. He had thought Lockdown running around was bad enough. For him to have control over a half-orc was most troubling. The amount of destruction and fear it could cause… He had to protect the people, especially from these monsters running around.

“We were actually tracking the creature when we came across Lady Prowl,” Scrapper explained. “When we realized she was a prisoner, we made the decision to prioritize her safety first.”

“I am glad you did, but still...” Ultra Magnus mused the news of a half-orc on the loose. “The half-orc will be a greater threat in the long run.”

“We have an idea where the creature may be in a few days, my King,” Scrapper said.

Ultra Magnus raised an eyebrow, but gestured for him to approach the throne. Quickly, Long Haul produced a map before handing it to Scrapper. He gestured for Mixmaster to come up with him, the two approaching the throne. They gave a short bow before presenting the king their map, Mixmaster pointing out a few marked locations.

“Seems the orc likes to wander, has spots he likes to frequent from time to time. But even in its simple mind there is a degree of routine.” Mixmaster made lines with his fingers between the locations. “It travels the same paths, goes to the same spots on the same days. The only time it diverges from these is when he marks his ‘territory’. Expanding his hiding spots.”

“Then time is of the essence,” Charlotte piped in, recognising one of the spots. “That mark is close to a neighbouring village. If the half-orc deems it part of his territory…”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Scrapper said. “The village would be decimated and no doubt Lockdown will reap the spoils.”

“This also presents a unique opportunity too.”

The new voice caused them to turn. Prowl was suddenly beside them, taking a hold the map to look over it. Her brow furrowed as she studied over it before nodding to herself. “Mapping these locations on days the orc is not there could yield Lockdown’s hideout. And perhaps, if done in a timely manner, it could be traced back to him.”

“Can it really be done though?” Charlotte asked, worry apparent in her voice. After all, an orc, full-blooded or half-blooded, wasn’t anything to dismiss or take lightly. Not to mention there was still Lockdown to worry about.

Mixmaster nodded. “Your Majesty, we can-”

“My King,” Prowl interrupted, Mixmaster’s voice catching in his throat. “With your permission, I wish to use this new information to track down Lockdown. We may be able to ambush him and finally capture him without risk of him getting away.”

“Is that wise?” Charlotte asked. She wasn’t questioning Prowl’s abilities, not at all… But she was aware that Lockdown and the spymaster had a history. Not to mention he hadn’t killed her like he had her men; he had merely taken her prisoner. “He seems to have made you a target.”

“No disrespect, My Lady, but I have to agree with Her Majesty,” Scrapper said, giving a small head bow when Prowl looked at him. “Lockdown will keep a look out for you in hopes of kidnapping you again.”

“Which is precisely why I will continue to track him down until he’s arrested or killed.” She turned back to the king, who had looked up from the map to her. “Your Majesty, I would only require my own agents and the hired help of these hunters should I be granted permission.”

Prowl knew that she was basically dangling a carrot in front of a horse, but it would increase her chances of success. Lockdown wanted her for his own sick twisted desires and he clearly would do anything to get to her, which she could use against him to make him slip up. Her men were strong enough to take him and any henchmen he had.

As for the half-orc, that was where she would rely on the aid of these hunters. If Lockdown was able to tame a half-orc, there was no telling what other creatures he could get a hold of. Their expertise would come in handy should Lockdown acquire any other monsters to get to her.

“I shall...take your request under consideration,” Ultra Magnus said, giving her a nod.

He could see faults in her plans, numerous ways it could go wrong, and yet there was merit and logic to it. He refused to place her in harm's way. but for the good of the kingdom, this bandit needed to be stopped. In addition, he had a feeling at his refusal Prowl would find a way to do it anyway.

“As for you...” Directing attention to the hunters, the king sat up more straightly in his seat. “You will be rewarded for your actions, and perhaps be called upon this court again for your skills and knowledge.”

“You are too kind, my King.” Scrapper quickly bowed, his brothers following after. “Should you need us, we’ll keep a close ear and eye out for relevant notices on any message boards.”

“For posterity's sake, I will send one of my men to find you instead,” Prowl said, turning to the group. Even though most would place such wanted posts on the boards or inns in the villages and cities, she would need them to respond in a more efficient and timely matter. She wouldn’t wait around for weeks hoping they would see her king’s message.

Once she bid the king and the hunters farewell, she was escorted to her chambers. Since Ultra Magnus didn’t give her expressed permission yet, she would have to go off what she had to track down Lockdown. Until then, she would have to ask carefully for him to finally consider.

She couldn’t let this slide. She would hunt Lockdown and his men down and end the terror they plagued villages with. Whether it would be by arresting them or just straight out executing them, she would stop them. Even if it was the last thing she did. 


End file.
